For All Who Had a Grandmother like– Barack
Today we look forward to a New Era, the current password to “Hope” offered by a man in the seat of power. What makes him who he is that we believe we can become better at who we are?
The Apron.
Barack Obama suffered great loss when his beloved Grandmother Madelyn Dunham died of cancer October ‘08 at age 86.
Happy times for Barack were when encased in his grandmother’s arms, enjoying her cooking, or hiding behind her apron.
Today an apron is mostly to display a phrase like “Kiss the Cook” but during Barack’s early years such was not the case.
Madelyn’s apron was required to avoid soiling her dresses of which there were few. Any money she could spare went to Barack’s schooling rather then her wardrobe. Since clothing seldom wears out as fast as it washes out when scrubbed, Mrs. Dunham relied on her aprons.
Hers like most did double duty as pot holders when necessary to handle hot pans.
Aprons popular in Barack’s younger days were used by some to carry vegetables from the garden, eggs from the chicken coup.
When Madelyn was cold her apron served as a arm-wrap to warm herself.
When she perspired bent over the stove that apron handily served as a hankie to wipe her brow.
Neighbors with fire places used theirs to carry kindling wood inside. In the fall Marelyn’s apron carried fruit to the kitchen, corn husks to the trash can.
When company arrived that Barack wasn’t expecting he hid his surprise along with sometimes his shyness, behind Madelyn’s apron. Such company never entered a room layered in dust mites, the apron took care of that too.
When it was time to call Barack into the house Madelyn could go to the doorway and wave her apron. He knew it meant, “Come inside now.”
A shelter for a child or corner of fabric to wipe out his ears were only few of many tasks Madelyn’s apron preformed. She never suspected she was on occasion wiping a tear from her grandson’s eyes– he one day President of the United States, “Leader of the Free World”.
© Strasbaugh
Some Find Each Decade to be a New Era. Dame Julie Andrews Sang This When She Turned 69, and it is guaranteed to make you smile.
To commemorate her birthday, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at
Manhattan ’s Radio City Music Hall for the benefit of the AARP. It was one of many musical numbers she performs. This song, ‘My Favorite Things’ she does in the legendary
movie ‘Sound Of Music’.
Follow lyrics she used: Go Ahead. (Sing It!) - If you sing it, its especially a giggler!!! 
Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.
When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don’t feel so bad.
Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.
Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin’,
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin’,
And we won’t mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.
When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I’ve had,
And then I don’t feel so bad.
(Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd. Also an author of children’s books she published her 2008 autobiography, “In Memory Of My Early Years.”
Welcome to our Chinese friends who today celebrate the New Year. This January 25, ‘09 is the Year Of The Ox which represents ‘calm’ and ‘hard work.’
China ushers in each new era with their favorite food, thousands of pounds of flour for dumplings and even more fillings for them.
Chinese Star signs are a mixture of connection between geomancy, horoscopes, astronomy and astrology.
Sun, Moon and Stars are believed to be driving forces that influence daily life.
Dan Kennedy spoke with his power gang asking, “What would you do if you lost everything in your financial business life and had to start again?”
The best answer among his brain trust was, “I’d go on the net, start blogging about my crappy life so people would come up with helpful new ideas.”
Being a huge fan of Dan that seemed to work for me.
Granted I have not lost everything, yet–
However have struggled a great deal these past weeks now turning into months since Internet hackers ruined all 22 active websites.
Car expenses mounted.
Caring for handicap son had become more difficult.
Then three weeks ago tomorrow my daughter died, suddenly, unexpectedly without warning of an aneurysm.
Today the manager of a small hedgefune 8 of us founded 4 years ago had to quit over his own legal/financial divorce dispute.
I have since a spot in my stomach that boils with a stinging burning sensation 7/24, this stuff is collectively began to affect my health which until has been fantastic.
Any suggestions blog catalog? http://www.blogcatalog.com
Thanks to whoever thinks up a plan.
Claudia
By JENNIFER KABBANY
Before taking their jump, Tom Lockridge, 87, center, and his family watch a movie with music that they can select and put on a DVD of the family’s first skydive Saturday at Lake Elsinore. (Photo by Andrew Foulk - for the North County Times) Tom Lockridge, 87, of Oceanside gets strapped into his harness before skydiving Saturday afternoon at Lake Elsinore. Lockridge said he has always wanted to skydive, especially after being shot down in World War II and having to crash land his plane. (Photo by Andrew Foulk - for the North County Times) Pat Lockridge descends to Earth after skydiving for the first time with seven of his bothers and sisters, as well as his 87-year-old father, Tom, who put the whole trip together. (Photo by Andrew Foulk - for the North County Times)
LAKE ELSINORE —- Thomas Lockridge isn’t the kind of guy to celebrate his 87th birthday with cake and ice cream.
The Oceanside resident has spent his retirement seeking adventure, from climbing 14,000-foot mountains and whitewater river rafting to taking weeklong bicycling trips and trekking through Nepal.
Jumping out of a plane at 12,000 feet? Just another day in the life.
Lockridge marked his birthday Saturday by fulfilling his lifelong dream of making a parachute jump, a desire first sparked during World War II, when his plane was shot down. Too low to bail out, he crash landed in a farm field in Austria.
“I’ve always wanted to make a parachute jump, and I finally got around to it,” he said Saturday after successfully landing his tandem jump at Skydive Elsinore in Lake Elsinore. “It was fun.”
Lockridge usually includes his family in his adventures, and Saturday was no exception. He paid for all six of his adult children to skydive along with him as birthday gifts. His children are in their 50s and early 60s.
“It took me a minute to catch my breath,” said one of his daughters, Oceanside resident Janice Lockridge, after her jump. “Jumping out of the plane was like the worst roller-coaster drop multiplied by 100.”
Janice Lockridge said it’s not uncommon for her father to think up exciting ways for family members to spend time together or mark special occasions.
Last year, to mark his birthday, Thomas Lockridge and his son-in-law, Michael Peroni, went “barnstorming,” or flying around in old-fashioned planes with pilots who engage in mock dogfights.
“I told him before the jump that I don’t want him to give me any more birthday presents,” joked Michael Peroni, who also was lassoed into skydiving Saturday.
“I’m worried about what his next trick is going to be,” Peroni said. “His mind is probably already working on it.”
Thomas Lockridge said that even at 87, he likes to stay active and have fun.
He retired in 1980 after a career as a construction worker and contractor. Soon after, he was climbing Mount Rainier and Mount Shasta.
An avid traveler, he’s visited Europe three times, driven his motor home up to Alaska, and once spent three weeks trekking through the mountains of Nepal.
He and some of his children have also gone on weeklong cycling excursions, sleeping in hotels along the way. In 2000, the family went whitewater river rafting.
“He was jumping off rocks with us into the water,” said his granddaughter, Andrea Dow, 29. “He’s a lot of fun.”
Thomas Lockridge said he doesn’t do anything special to stay in shape.
“I try to exercise and eat the right foods. That’s about it,” he said.
He said that staying active at his age is just as much a mental trick as it is a physical one, that he “thinks young to stay young.” He also shuns television for the most part.
“I don’t watch television during the day, except during football season,” he said. “And I watch very little at night.”
He acknowledges that his adventures are far from the typical for someone his age, joking “I’m probably half-crazy.”
Janice Lockridge said it was her father who brought the family together to skydive Saturday.
“He’s the one egging us on, and we’re like, OK, if our 87-year-old dad can do it, I guess we can do it,” she said.
In all, nine family members jumped —- Thomas Lockridge, his six children, a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law.
“We are a close-knit family,” Janice Lockridge said.
- For The Californian | Saturday, January 17, 2009 7:06 PM PST
Sent over by my Aunt Mae, dearest great aunt anyone could ever wish for, fun lady too. (Oceanside is 30 miles north of where I live.)
